The present invention is in the field of night viewing devices, and especially to devices that may comprise either an objective lens input imaging means at the input for use as head mounted goggles or a larger non-head mounted infrared scanner imaging means in which either type input may be used in either direct viewing or as a camera tube for remote viewing of some external scene.
The present embodiments are improvements over previous infrared (IR) imagers in that the present imagers provide a readout in either direct or remote view that has a 1:1 ratio IR image matrix to display matrix mapping. Also, the present embodiments eliminate aliasing which is present in other known sampling and display techniques.
The above mentioned improvements are accomplished in the embodiments of this invention. One embodiment is a "smart" direct view picture element array image intensifier night vision device which uses image analysis signals and process control schemes for analyzing these signals and makes decisions based on a comparison of built-in memory to feed back image enhancement signals to the picture element array. Another embodiment is an image intensifier camera used for recording and for remote viewing of digitized intensity of the array of picture elements at the output.
Both embodiments use a two dimensional picture element (PIXEL) array image intensifier comprising a photocathode and microchannel plate (MCP) having orthogonal arrays of electrically isolated strips that are individually connected to tube electronic means and array switching means for sequentially switching differential bias voltages on each of the interfacing stripes in some selective scan mode to provide accelerating or repressive voltages between cross-over areas.